Vessel Traffic

The Santa Barbara Channel is a key shipping lane, but with that ship traffic, comes the risk of ships running into whales and other marine animals.
Traffic Patterns
Figure App.C.4.12.. A map showing traffic patterns of large commercial shipping vessels through the Sanctuary (2008, 2010, 2014).

Figure App.C.4.12.. A map showing traffic patterns of large commercial shipping vessels through the Sanctuary (2008, 2010, 2014).

Click for Details Traffic patterns of large commercial vessels (cargo and tanker vessels) in the Santa Barbara Channel region for 2008, 2010, and 2014. The number of commercial ship transits is shown, using Automatic Identification System (AIS) data transmitted from ships. Vessels transiting to and from the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach that pass by the northern Channel Islands use either the Santa Barbara Channel Traffic Separation Scheme around the north side of the islands, or take routes south of the islands. Data source: USCG AIS data, processed by NMFS; Figure: MSWGSS 2016
Vessel Groundings
Figure App.C.3.1.. A map showing vessel grounding locations from 1999 to 2016.

Figure App.C.3.1.. A map showing vessel grounding locations from 1999 to 2016.

Click for Details Reported vessel grounding locations from 1999 to 2016 are shown in the map above. Not all groundings in the CINMS database are included as coordinates are unavailable for some grounding events. Data source: Vessel Assist; Map: M. Cajandig/NOAA